Plot: What’s it about?
Lately, Benedict Cumberbatch is all over the place. His turn as Sherlock Holmes in TV’s Sherlock was well received and he played a great villain in this past summers Star Trek Into Darkness. He has several films on the horizon and for what it’s worth, he is certainly a good actor. Parade’s End is a 5-Part HBO mini series and part of what works in its favor are the performances. The performances are so good here that it brings more life to what is otherwise a slow, fairly dry film. The attention to detail is also very nice. I enjoyed much of the set design and cinematography. I can imagine the filmmakers did their homework in that department and it shows on-screen. The story centers around a love triangle between Christopher Tietjens (Cumberbatch), his socialite wife Sylvia (Rebecca Hall) and a young woman Valentine Wannop (Adelaide Clemens). The story takes place during World War 1 in England. Typically this is not my sort of film, but this was slightly better than average largely thanks to the wonderful cast. The Rebecca Hall character held my interest the most. We are seeing a couple so different from one another that it’s a wonder why they got together to begin with. By the time that Valentine shows up, Christopher immediately takes to her. She is much closer to him in her beliefs and overall nature. She is a suffragette and is strong in her beliefs yet not vindictive like Sylvia.
Tom Stoppard penned the screenplay here, adapting the novels by Ford Madox Ford. This must have been a task, but the writing here is decent and the story (while slow) develops nicely. There is a central mystery regarding Sylvia. She is pregnant and the child may or may not be Christopher’s. Part of what made Parade’s End much more tolerable for me than initially expected was that it looks stunning in the HD format. I will delve into this further in the Video section, but let it be said that all the details of the early 1900’s is here and impeccable. Praise must also be given to the strong cast here. Cumberbatch and Clemens have great chemistry and Rebecca Hall gives another strong performance here. Many may recall her from this past summer’s Iron Man 3. She has the trickiest of roles here, trying desperately to not lose Christopher yet seems to despite him at the same time. If this sounds like your sort of film (or Mini Series if you will), then by all means check it out. Everyone else should look elsewhere.
Video: How’s it look?
This is where the disc truly shines. This is a flawless transfer, colors are appropriate and spot on. The 1.78:1 AVC encoded transfer more than delivers. The greens of the landscape and costume designs really shine through here. There is much detail on the actor’s faces here as well. Black levels are strong and deep and colors are always well saturated. The cinematography is one of the best things about this film and this transfer does justice. I enjoyed observing the various interior designs of the castles and such. This is a first rate transfer.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The 5.1 DTS HD track is solid, but doesn’t have quite the impact as the film’s visuals do. It is still a very worthy track, but it isn’t quite as robust as I expected. As far as clarity goes, however, it is strong. The rear channels do get some use at times. There are a few war scenes throughout the film and those have great depth to them, really involving us. Dialogue is always clean and clear as well. This track should please fans, but the transfer is where this disc really shines.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This 5 hour mini series is spread across two discs. There is a digital copy code as well as previews.
- Elvis Mitchell interviews Tom Stoppard (28:04) – This is a nice interviews with plenty of good notes, but it is an audio interview so we are only hearing it while we look at a menu screen. I prefer a documentary personally, but this should please fans and the information is useful.
